I'm so in love with this dress! I whipped it up the other night in about 3 hours. I based the pattern on my 2-hour Dress/Tunic tutorial. I shortened the sleeves and added on a contrast band using a double knit fabric (you might recognize that fabric from this skirt).
I adapted the measurements a little bit from last time (see below). I really like the fit of the dress and am already planning another one.
To make the sleeves I cut 4 pieces 8 in x 4 in. I was worried about the sleeve sticking out too much at the tops and curved the seam a little from the shoulder down across the sleeve. I used a .5 inch seam allowance throughout.
Here are some really basic instructions. I used my serger for almost all of the seams which except for threading was really fast.
Instructions:
1. Stitch 4 sleeve pieces to front and back.
2. Stitch shoulder seams.
3. Stitch side seams.
4. Fold raw edge of sleeve to inside and stitch to seam allowance.
5. Make neck facing and stitch to neck edge. Turn and press.
6. Topstitch neck edge. (I like to put tissue paper underneath knit fabric when top stitching.)
7. Hem skirt
You're all done! This dress is so easy and so satisfying. It's the perfect project to tackle after something tedious or frustrating.
Using a serger is so great for knits. I even did a blind hem stitch with the serger (below).
